The data for this assignment comes from the Seattle Public Library. I am using smaller data sets based on the initial 40 million entries to create a report about library circulation trends.
Write a summary paragraph of findings that includes the 5 values calculated from your summary information R script The checkout data from the Seattle Public Library provides information on the number of times items were checked out from the library’s collection, including books, DVDs, and other materials, from 2005 to 2023. This data can be used to identify trends in reading and media consumption over time, as well as to inform collection development and resource allocation decisions by the library. The data is publicly available on the library’s website and can be accessed and analyzed by researchers, journalists, and other interested parties.
These will likely be calculated using your DPLYR skills, answering questions such as:
| Material Checked out | Average Checkouts |
|---|---|
| MIXED | 440.40856 |
| MAGAZINE | 61.23701 |
| ER | 28.44944 |
| AUDIOBOOK | 25.25704 |
| EBOOK | 25.13426 |
| VIDEODISC | 24.43032 |
| CR | 23.73762 |
| REGPRINT | 23.19126 |
| MUSIC | 21.80855 |
| BOOK | 20.92514 |
| SONG | 20.28797 |
| ER, SOUNDDISC | 18.51351 |
| MOVIE | 18.28628 |
| SOUNDDISC, VIDEODISC | 16.93151 |
| COMIC | 15.77851 |
| SOUNDDISC | 15.73852 |
| LARGEPRINT | 15.65094 |
| ER, VIDEODISC | 15.32258 |
| SOUNDREC | 14.13866 |
| VIDEOREC | 13.87500 |
| VISUAL | 13.70833 |
| TELEVISION | 13.67265 |
| VIDEOCASS | 13.23529 |
| UNSPECIFIED | 12.89474 |
| VIDEOCART | 11.57143 |
| ER, SOUNDDISC, SOUNDREC | 11.00000 |
| ATLAS | 10.91667 |
| ER, SOUNDREC | 10.73913 |
| GLOBE | 10.00000 |
| MAP | 10.00000 |
| SOUNDCASS | 10.00000 |
| VIDEOCASS, VIDEODISC | 10.00000 |
In this bar chart we can see the amount of physical checkouts made at the Seattle Public Library every year, spanning the years of 2017 to 2023. We can see the amount of physical checkouts gradually decreasing, but in 2020, physical checkouts took a sharp decline largely in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We see the amount of physical checkouts slightly pickup again in the years to come following the effects of the pandemic but they never truly recover their glory.
In this line chart we can see the amount of digital checkouts made at the Seattle Public Library every year, spanning the years of 2017 to 2023. We can see the amount of digital checkouts increase at a decent rate, but in 2020 and the years to come, digital checkouts increased largely in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This trend is something I expect to continue on through the decade as we advance as a more technologically reliant society and books become obsolete.
In the third and final chart we can see the distribution of checkouts made at the Seattle Public Library from 2017-2023. We can see the monopoly Books, Ebooks, Audiobooks and Videodiscs have over just about every other material type offered by the Seattle public library, these 5 virtually eclipse the rest. I expect this trend to hold for the most part, with the exception of seeing books phased out as we become a paperless society.